Existing outdoor cameras that communicate over different mediums via various protocols including Internet Protocol (IP), analog cabling, digital signaling, and fiber optic networks are relatively expensive and have design options that are fixed or limited. Meanwhile, indoor cameras typically provide the same technical features as the outdoor version and are less expensive because they are not packaged to withstand the external environment. These cameras have a number of other advantages including higher resolutions and highly compressed video, which greatly increases image quality. Therefore, the objective of the present invention is to provide camera systems used in outdoor environments with a self-wiping/self-cleaning protective dome system, which can be encapsulated within an enclosure for the outdoors that protects the camera from moisture, weather, and environmental conditions.
Traditionally, the task of cleaning the protective dome is manually accomplished, wherein a person physically accesses the protective dome. Most likely, the enclosure will be positioned off the ground such as on a pole, a building roof, walls of structures, other elevated structures, or in remote areas. A person typically encounters unsafe situations having to reach up to the protective dome or make time consuming and expensive trips to the camera systems in order to clean the protective dome with conventional cleaning items such as water and a towel. Thus, the objective of the present invention is to self-clean and wipe clear of rain off of the protective dome around these cameras, which eliminates the labor and travel cost of manually cleaning the protective dome, improves the image quality of the video and reduces the risk of bodily injury for those people trying to clean camera systems mounted in precarious locations. The present invention mechanically rotates the protective dome, which allows a fixed wiper to clean the outer surface of the protective dome. The self-cleaning feature of the present invention removes precipitation from rainfall that can accumulate on the protective dome and can obstruct the visibility through the protective dome. The self-cleaning feature can also spray wiper fluid onto the protective dome in order to clean an accumulation of grungy debris such as dust or salt spray. When the protective dome rotates, the combination of the wiper fluid and the fixed wiper cleans the protective dome and restores a clear view for the camera.